Category Archives: Early Career Awards

The CSEE Early Career Awards recognize outstanding accomplishments and promising future research potential in ecology and evolution by scientists early in their careers. Awards are given to two candidates each year. Winners of the award are invited to present a plenary talk at the annual CSEE meeting.

Early Career Award 2023

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Award Description:  The CSEE Early Career Awards recognize outstanding accomplishments and promising future research potential in ecology and evolution by scientists early in their career. The selection committee will consider the applications through the lens of CSEE’s Diversity and Inclusivity Statement and draft Code of Ethics. Awards will be given to two candidates each year. Two awardees will receive a 10-year membership to CSEE/SCEE, a $600 cash award and an invitation to give a keynote lecture at the annual meeting. In addition, awardees are eligible to receive up to $1,100 allowance to assist with the costs of care during the CSEE August 2022 meeting. For example, childcare services are considered an eligible expense for the allowance.

Eligibility:  Applicants must have: 1) a research background in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology, and 2) received their doctorate within five years of the application deadline, not including time taken for parental leave(s). There are no citizenship requirements. However, applicants must be either currently working at a Canadian institution, or have obtained their PhD from a Canadian University. Applicants must adhere to the draft CSEE Code of Ethics.

Application Materials:  Applicants must apply directly.  Established researchers may encourage outstanding early-career scientists to apply, but to show their consent nominees/applicants must apply directly.  Applications must contain all of the following supporting materials in the stated order:

  1. A completed Applicant Awards Declaration Form.
  2. A modified curriculum vitae in which major identifying features are removed. For example, please remove your name from publications and presentations and replace it with “The Applicant”.
  3. A summary of research accomplishments (maximum 2 pages). Please use non-identifying language. For example, you can refer to the specific labs you have been affiliated with, but should refrain from identifying yourself by name.
  4. A statement of research plans for the next 5 years (maximum of 2 pages).

Letters of Reference: Three letters of reference are required for each applicant and must be sent directly by the referees. Referees must use non-identifying terms, such as “The Applicant”. For example, “The applicant has been a member of my lab…”. In addition to commenting on the candidate’s accomplishments and future research potential, letters of reference should highlight how the applicant has demonstrated conduct that aligns with the draft CSEE Code of Ethics, and how they have demonstrated leadership and commitment that aligns with CSEE’s Diversity and Inclusivity Statement.

Submitting Your Application: All materials and reference letters must be sent in PDF form to both Jasmine Janes (Jasmine.Janes@viu.ca) and Eric Vander Wal (eric.vanderwal@mun.ca).  All materials should be sent with the following filename convention: lastname_firstinitial_CSEE_ECRaward2023.pdf OR lastname_firstinitial_CSEE_ECRreference.pdf.

Time lines: The deadline for receipt of all materials including letters of reference is 3 February 2023. Applicants will be notified of outcomes in March.

Please note: The name (first or last) of the applicant must not appear anywhere within the application other than the file names. Anonymization intends to reduce bias during the evaluation process. Failure to properly anonymize applications could result in disqualification.

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Early Career Award 2022

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Deadline for receipt of all application materials: Friday 1 April 2022

Award Description:  The CSEE Early Career Awards recognize outstanding accomplishments and promising future research potential in ecology and evolution by scientists early in their career. The selection committee will consider the applications through the lens of CSEE’s Diversity and Inclusivity Statement and draft Code of Ethics. Awards will be given to two candidates each year. Two awardees will receive a 10-year membership to CSEE/SCEE, a $600 cash award and an invitation to give a keynote lecture at the annual meeting. In addition, awardees are eligible to receive up to $1,100 allowance to assist with the costs of care during the CSEE August 2022 meeting. For example, childcare services are considered an eligible expense for the allowance.

Eligibility:  Applicants must have: 1) a research background in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology, and 2) received their doctorate within five years of the application deadline, not including time taken for parental leave(s). There are no citizenship requirements. However, applicants must be either currently working at a Canadian institution, or have obtained their PhD from a Canadian University. Applicants must adhere to the draft CSEE Code of Ethics.

Application Materials:  Applicants must apply directly.  Established researchers may encourage outstanding early-career scientists to apply, but to show their consent nominees/applicants must apply directly.  Applications must contain all of the following supporting materials in the stated order:

  1. A completed Applicant Awards Declaration Form.
  2. A modified curriculum vitae in which major identifying features are removed. For example, please remove your name from publications and presentations and replace it with “The Applicant”.
  3. A summary of research accomplishments (maximum 2 pages). Please use non-identifying language. For example, you can refer to the specific labs you have been affiliated with, but should refrain from identifying yourself by name.
  4. A statement of research plans for the next 5 years (maximum of 2 pages).
2022EN-ECR_declaration_formDownload

Letters of Reference: Three letters of reference are required for each applicant and must be sent directly by the referees. Referees must use non-identifying terms, such as “The Applicant”. For example, “The applicant has been a member of my lab…”. In addition to commenting on the candidate’s accomplishments and future research potential, letters of reference should highlight how the applicant has demonstrated conduct that aligns with the draft CSEE Code of Ethics, and how they have demonstrated leadership and commitment that aligns with CSEE’s Diversity and Inclusivity Statement.

Submitting Your Application: All materials and reference letters must be sent in PDF form to both Jasmine Janes (Jasmine.Janes@viu.ca) and Eric Vander Wal (eric.vanderwal@mun.ca).  All materials should be sent with the following filename convention: lastname_firstinitial_CSEE_ECRaward2022.pdf OR lastname_firstinitial_CSEE_ECRreference.pdf.

Time lines: The deadline for receipt of all materials including letters of reference is 1 April 2022. Applicants will be notified of outcomes in May.

Please note: The name (first or last) of the applicant must not appear anywhere within the application other than the file names. Anonymization intends to reduce bias during the evaluation process. Failure to properly anonymize applications could result in disqualification.

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Early Career Award 2021

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Deadline for receipt of all application materials: Friday 26 February 2021

Award Description:  The CSEE Early Career Awards recognize outstanding accomplishments and promising future research potential in ecology and evolution by scientists early in their career. The selection committee will consider the candidate’s application through the lens of CSEE’s Diversity and Inclusivity Statement. Awards will be given to two candidates each year.  They consist of a 10-year membership to CSEE/SCEE, $500 cash award, up to $1000 allowance to cover expenses associated with attending the 2021 CSEE meeting in August 2021, and an invitation to give a keynote lecture at the annual meeting.

Eligibility:  Applicants must be active researchers in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology who received their doctorate within five years of the application deadline, not including time taken for parental leave (i.e., one year of parental leave extends the eligibility period to six years post-Ph.D.).  Candidates need to be Canadian citizens, or landed immigrants, or have completed their PhD at a Canadian University, or be currently working at a Canadian University. Candidates must support the goals of the CSEE Diversity and Inclusivity Statement.

Application/Nomination Procedures:  Candidates may apply directly or may be nominated.  Established researchers are encouraged to nominate outstanding young scientists.  Applications must contain all of the following supporting materials in the stated order: (1) a completed Applicant Information Form, including names and email addresses of 3 referees (indicate the nominating scientist where applicable) who will provide supporting letters, (2) a curriculum vitae, (3) a summary of research accomplishments (maximum 2 pages), (4) a 2-page statement of research plans for the next 5 years, (5) three recent publications (a list is sufficient; attachments not required).
The three letters of reference must be sent separately from the candidate’s nomination package.  In addition to commenting on the candidate’s accomplishments and future research potential, letters of reference must specifically address the candidate’s commitment to CSEE’s Diversity and Inclusivity Statement. All nomination materials and reference letters must be sent as PDFs to either of the co-chairs of the CSEE Awards committee, Julie Sircom (jsircom@grenfell.mun.ca) or Jasmine Janes (jasmine.janes@viu.ca).

Time lines:  The deadline for receipt of all materials including letters of reference is 26 February 2021.  The recipients will be notified of the award in April and they will formally receive their award at the annual meeting.

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CSEE Early Career Award 2020

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We are thrilled to announce the 2020 recipients of the CSEE Early Career Award: Dr. Diana Rennison and Dr. Kiyoko Gotanda. Dr. Rennison is an Assistant Professor at UC San Diego, where she uses methods from the fields of evolution, ecology, and genomics to investigate the evolution and maintenance of biodiversity (https://rennisonlab.com). Dr. Gotanda is a Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge whose contributions span ecology, evolution, behaviour, and conservation (http://www.kiyokogotanda.com/).

In lieu of giving plenary lectures at the annual meeting, Diana and Kiyoko will give online research talks on Friday, June 26th at 4pm EDT, and Friday July 3rd at 4pm EDT:

June 26 4pm EDT – Dr. Diana Rennison: Uncovering the genetic and ecological underpinnings of parallel adaptation

July 3rd 4pm EDT – Dr. Kiyoko Gotanda: Human influences on adaptation on the Galapagos Islands

Both talks will be streamed live to our CSEE YouTube channel and will feature a live question period: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoP8jVN1m84wvV5PQKS8ziQ .

Thank-you to the awards committee for their effort and care with this process, and for their attention to CSEE’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity. We had an incredible group of applicants for this award. While this made our deliberations difficult, it also filled us with excitement for the future of ecology and evolution research in Canada and beyond.

Early Career Award Talks: Friday June 26th, 4pm EDT

 Dr. Diana RennisonRennison

 Uncovering the genetic and ecological underpinnings of parallel adaptation.

This talk will give an overview of the integrative work I conduct to determine the mechanisms central to the origin and maintenance of the spectacular species diversity we see in the world today. The core questions I seek to address are: How do sources of selection interact to shape the course of evolution and the generation of biodiversity? & Why do organisms follow certain evolutionary trajectories when many are possible? To tackle these questions I integrate population genomics, field collections and experimental estimates of natural selection. I will give an overview of two of my studies which have shed light on these important questions. The first study uses a manipulative selection experiment to test whether evolutionary divergence between species is caused by differential predation. The second study takes a comparative approach to establish what genetic and ecological factors constrain or promote adaptive evolution.

Early Career Award Talks: Friday July 3rd, 4pm EDT

Dr. Kiyoko GotandaGotanda

 Human influences on adaptation on the Galapagos Islands

The Galápagos Islands are renowned for their unique, endemic biodiversity which inspired Charles Darwin to develop his theory of evolution by natural selection. In particular, Darwin’s finches are an iconic example of adaptive radiation due to natural selection, where ~18 species have evolved from a single, common ancestor. Adaptive radiations can occur when exploitation of new ecological niches can lead to speciation, that is, the formation of entirely new species. Each species of Darwin’s finches is able to specialize on niche specific food items as well innovate in order to take advantage of new food sources, for example, by utilizing tools. Humans can pose major threats to such adaptive radiations by changing selection pressures on Darwin’s finches, and thus, influence their adaptation and evolution. On the Galápagos Islands, humans have direct and indirect effects on the adaptation of Darwin’s finches. My research focuses on three human influences: introduced predators, novel foods, and urbanization, and how these iconic finches are adapting to the presence of humans on the islands.

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Early Career Award 2020

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Deadline for receipt of all application materials: 14 February 2020

Award Description:  The CSEE Early Career Awards recognize outstanding accomplishments and promising future research potential in ecology and evolution by scientists early in their career.  Awards will be given to two candidates each year.  They consist of a 10-year membership to CSEE/SCEE, $500 cash award, up to $1000 allowance for travel and accommodation to attend the CSEE meeting in Edmonton, AB, in May 2020, and an invitation to give a keynote lecture at the annual meeting.

Eligibility:  Applicants must be active researchers in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology who received their doctorate within five years of the application deadline, not including time taken for parental leave (i.e., one year of parental leave extends the eligibility period to six years post-Ph.D.).  Candidates need to be Canadian citizens, or landed immigrants, or have completed their PhD at a Canadian University, or be currently working at a Canadian University.

Application/Nomination Procedures:  Candidates may apply directly or may be nominated.  Established researchers are encouraged to nominate outstanding young scientists.  Nominations must contain all of the following supporting materials in the stated order: (1) a curriculum vitae, (2) a summary of research accomplishments (maximum 2 pages), (3) a 2-page statement of research plans for the next 5 years, (4) three recent publications, (5) names and addresses of 3 referees (including the nominating scientist where applicable) who will provide supporting letters. The 3 letters of reference should be sent separately from the candidate’s nomination package.  All nomination materials and reference letters must be sent as PDFs to the chair of the CSEE Awards committee, Carissa Brown (carissa.brown@mun.ca).

Time lines:  The deadline for receipt of all materials including letters of reference is 14 February 2020.  The recipients will be notified of the award in March and they will receive their award at the following annual meeting.

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Early Career Award 2019

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We are pleased to announce this year’s Early Career Award competition. We encourage nominations of outstanding early career ecology and evolution scientists, and we highly encourage potential nominators to reflect on CSEE’s Diversity and Inclusivity Statement: http://csee-scee.ca/diversity-and-inclusivity-statement/. Self nominations are welcome.

Deadline for receipt of all application materials: 28 February 2019

Award Description:  The CSEE Early Career Awards recognize outstanding accomplishments and promising future research potential in ecology and evolution by scientists early in their career.  Awards will be given to two candidates each year.  They consist of a 10-year membership to CSEE/SCEE, $500 cash award, up to $1000 allowance for travel and accommodation to attend the CSEE meeting in Fredericton, NB, in August 2019, and an invitation to give a keynote lecture at the annual meeting.

Eligibility:  Applicants must be active researchers in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology who received their doctorate within five years of the application deadline, not including time taken for parental leave (i.e., one year of parental leave extends the eligibility period to six years post-Ph.D.).  Candidates need to be Canadian citizens, or landed immigrants, or have completed their PhD at a Canadian University, or be currently working at a Canadian University.

Application/Nomination Procedures:  Candidates may apply directly or may be nominated.  Established researchers are encouraged to nominate outstanding young scientists.  Nominations must contain all of the following supporting materials in the stated order: (1) a curriculum vitae, (2) a summary of research accomplishments (maximum 2 pages), (3) a 2-page statement of research plans for the next 5 years, (4) three recent publications, (5) names and addresses of 3 referees (including the nominating scientist where applicable) who will provide supporting letters. The 3 letters of reference should be sent separately from the candidate’s nomination package.  All nomination materials and reference letters must be sent as PDFs to the chair of the CSEE Awards committee, Carissa Brown (carissa.brown@mun.ca).

Time lines:  The deadline for receipt of all materials including letters of reference is 28 February 2019.  The recipients will be notified of the award in early April and they will receive their award at the following annual meeting.

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2018 EARLY CAREER AWARDS

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The CSEE Early Career Awards (ECA) recognize outstanding accomplishments and promising future research potential in ecology and evolution by scientists early in their careers. The evaluation committee was extremely impressed with the overall quality of applicants for the 2018 awards, so the process was both gratifying and difficult. This year’s recipients of the ECA were Stephen de Lisle (Postdoctoral Scholar, Lund University; Ph.D. University of Toronto) and Patrick Thompson (Postdoctoral Fellow, University of British Columbia; Ph.D. McGill University). Congratulations to Stephen and Patrick!

Stephen de Lisle

Postdoctoral Scholar (Lund University); Ph.D. University of Toronto

stephen-de-lisleStephen is an evolutionary ecologist interested in understanding how ecological processes drive evolutionary change within and between species. In particular, his research focuses on organisms with separate sexes to understand how and why selection and adaptation differ between males and females of the same species, and how the resulting evolution of sex differences influences both ecological communities and the dynamics of deep-time macroevolutionary diversification. In order to connect process and pattern across these disparate timescales, his research uses a wide range of approaches including ecological field experiments and surveys of wild populations, evolutionary quantitative genetics, and phylogenetic comparative methods.

Patrick Thompson

Postdoctoral Fellow (University of British Columbia); Ph.D. McGill University

patrick-thompsonPatrick Thompson is a community ecologist who seeks to understand the processes that maintain biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in changing environments. His research integrates theory and empirical methods in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems to study how changing land scape connectivity, food-web interactions, and adaptation combine to shape current and future communities. By developing and testing theory on how these processes interactively affect how communities respond to environmental change, his work advances our understanding of how communities operate and seeks to inform strategies for preserving biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in the face of global change.

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Early Career Award 2018

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Deadline for receipt of all application materials: 26 January 2018

Award Description: The CSEE Early Career Awards recognize outstanding accomplishments and promising future research potential in ecology and evolution by scientists early in their career. Awards will be given to two candidates each year. They consist of a 10-year membership to CSEE/SCEE, $500 cash award, up to $1000 allowance for travel and accommodation to attend the CSEE meeting in Guelph, ON, in July 2018, and an invitation to give a keynote lecture at the annual meeting.

Eligibility: Applicants must be active researchers in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology who received their doctorate within five years of the application deadline, not including time taken for parental leave (i.e., one year of parental leave extends the eligibility period to six years post-Ph.D.). Candidates need to be Canadian citizens, or landed immigrants, or have completed their PhD at a Canadian University, or be currently working at a Canadian University.

Application/Nomination Procedures: Candidates may apply directly or may be nominated.  Established researchers are encouraged to nominate outstanding young scientists.  Nominations must contain all of the following supporting materials in the stated order: (1) a curriculum vitae, (2) a summary of research accomplishments (maximum 2 pages), (3) a 2-page statement of research plans for the next 5 years, (4) three recent publications, (5) names and addresses of 3 referees (including the nominating scientist where applicable) who will provide supporting letters. The 3 letters of reference should be sent separately from the candidate’s nomination package. All nomination materials and reference letters must be sent as PDFs to the chair of the CSEE Awards committee, Mark Vellend (mark.vellend@usherbrooke.ca).

Time lines: The deadline for receipt of all materials including letters of reference is 26 January 2018. The recipients will be notified of the award in early March and they will receive their award at the following annual meeting.

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2017 Early Career Awards

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The CSEE Early Career Awards recognize outstanding accomplishments and promising future research potential in ecology and evolution by scientists early in their careers. We are delighted to announce that the recipients for the 2017 awards are Dr. Emily Darling, from the University of Toronto and the Wildlife Conservation Society, and Dr. Sean Anderson, from the University of Washington. We look forward to hearing their plenary talks at the CSEE meeting in Victoria.

Congratulations to both recipients, and hats off to all candidates for the very high calibre of their submissions.

Dr Emily Darlingedarling

Emily is a community ecologist and conservation biologist who is motivated to understand how human activities are altering coastal and marine ecosystems. Her research focuses on three interrelated themes: quantifying interactions between multiple stressors and the prevalence of ecological synergies, coral life histories and trajectories of community change on coral reefs, and managing marine ecosystems for resilience to climate change. Her work integrates multiple approaches, ranging from literature reviews, meta-analyses, and statistical analyses of long-term monitoring data, to quantitative field experiments and socio-economic surveys to understand the complex ecological dynamics of coastal systems.

 

sandersonDr Sean Anderson

Sean is a quantitative population biologist who links theory with data through statistical and simulation models to improve predictions about ecological systems and inform management and policy decisions. In particular, he is interested in how we can estimate population status with limited data and in the role of variance, risk, and extreme events in population dynamics. Because these problems are complex, a large part of his research involves method and software development and is often highly collaborative. His work spans across taxa (e.g. birds, moths, grizzly bears, sea cucumbers, salmon), ecosystems (marine, freshwater, terrestrial), methods (empirical, simulation, theoretical), spatial scale (regional, national, global), and time periods (modern, historical, paleontological).

 

 

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Early Career Awards 2017 – call for applications

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Deadline for receipt of all application materials: 13 January 2017

Award Description: The CSEE Early Career Awards recognize outstanding accomplishments and promising future research potential in ecology and evolution by scientists early in their career. Awards will be given to two candidates each year. They consist of a 10-year membership to CSEE/SCEE, $500 cash award, up to $1000 allowance for travel and accommodation to attend the CSEE meeting in Victoria, B.C., and an invitation to give a keynote lecture at the annual meeting.

Eligibility: Applicants must be active researchers in the field of ecology and evolutionary biology who received their doctorate within five years of the application deadline, not including time taken for parental leave (i.e., one year of parental leave extends the eligibility period to six years post-Ph.D.). Candidates need to be Canadian citizens, or landed immigrants, or have completed their PhD at a Canadian University, or be currently working at a Canadian University.

Application/Nomination Procedures: Candidates may apply directly or may be nominated.  Established researchers are encouraged to nominate outstanding young scientists.  Nominations must contain all of the following supporting materials in the stated order: (1) a curriculum vitae, (2) a summary of research accomplishments (maximum 2 pages), (3) a 2-page statement of research plans for the next 5 years, (4) three recent publications, (5) names and addresses of 3 referees (including the nominating scientist where applicable) who will provide supporting letters. The 3 letters of reference should be sent separately from the candidate’s nomination package. All nomination materials and reference letters must be sent as PDFs to the chair of the CSEE Awards committee, Mark Vellend (mark.vellend@usherbrooke.ca).

Time lines: The deadline for receipt of all materials including letters of reference is 13 January 2017. The recipients will be notified of the award in February and they will receive their award at the following annual meeting.

Download this information as a PDF document: csee-early-career-award-en-2017

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